Focus

Next year we are moving to block scheduling and this is very frightening for many teachers because we are losing a lot (88 minutes per week in science) from the instructional time.  Having spent the first 6 years of my career on almost an identical schedule as what will be adopted, I haven't really been as concerned with the changes as many of my colleagues.  The focus of too many of our conversations has been on how to get through all of the content in the curriculum.  But this has got me thinking:

http://goo.gl/iSxyz

if we focus on skills, will the content take care of itself?

I was tossing around the idea earlier in the year of revamping how the beginning of the year starts.  In the past, my year started with the typical song and dance on the first day and then we jump right into activities and content on day 2.  I don't want to do that anymore.  My students need to practice and become proficient in some specific skills before we can move forward with chemistry learning.  Here is what I am thinking:

1. Google Docs--I am definitely moving toward a paperless environment.  I have already moved all of my labs to Google Docs so I think it is time to do it with more of the course.  The best part of the Gdocs is the collaboration and I want my students doing more of that.  Also, becoming a Google Ninja will definitely be a priority on my list of activities for my students.
2. Search skills--Science is about research and inquiry, and few of my students have any ability to complete in depth searches.  When we start the material, it is going to start with specific web searches and then grow to more open-ended research.  From these searches we will develop the notes for the unit and I will simply supplement whatever is in the curriculum that the students didn't find on their own.  Through this I will also help develop the skills for learning outside of class for when I introduce the full flipped classroom.
3. Web 2.0 Tools--My students know Animoto and that's pretty much it.  I have found so many great web tools that can enhance their learning and they need to start exploring these.  This will be on-going as we will also be working on incorporating presentation skills into most of these.
4. Focus on Objectives--Students seem to get so wrapped up in what work they have to do, when it is due and how many points it is worth that they forget about the real purpose of school.  Every assignment that we complete, whether it is just exploration of a web tool or something chemistry related, will be related back to a clearly defined objective.  Part of the final assessment in every section will be a demonstration by the students that they have understand and mastered the objectives.  

I figure if instead of starting the year by jumping into content, and instead focus on skills that can be used all year and in every class, my students will be better prepared for learning.  From there I can integrate the content and let it take care of itself.

I would love to hear how about the changes you are making for the start of next year.  Any comments are always welcomed!

Proud of them

Recently I gave my CP Chemistry class my Adopt an Element Project.  This year I decided to change it.  Normally there is a research component which is typed into a 3-5 page paper and then a presentation of the research.  Problem is I am tired of getting PowerPoints and even more tired of cut and paste material.  They don't even read half of what they are putting into the presentation so, in reality, what are they really getting out of the project?

I gave the students 1 objective:  create a 1 minute video convincing us that your element is the best element in the class.  I let them define what the word best was because I didn't want everyone to focus on only the positive aspects of their element.  When some students have Lead, Mercury and Arsenic, it is tough to find the positives as they are all poisonous.  I showed them how to use Animoto.com and let them run with it for 3 days.  Two students decided that Animoto limited them too much so they used iMovie to create theirs (why should I force them to do it my way if there is something better for them?).  We showed them on Wednesday and the class voted on which one they felt were the best elements.  Here are the winners:

Sharing the best

For the last week of classes, I always stop formally teaching and have my students work on a research project.  The students are to select a science current event article and research an aspect of the science in the that article.  The research they do can be something very specific (hydraulics used in rollercoasters) or something much broader (stem cell research) depending on what in the article really interested them.  Then, the students create a presentation on the research they did to the class on the last day.  This project typically has a rough start, but always ends well because they students are entirely in control over the content.  They pick an article THEY are interested and then do research on something THEY found puzzling.  The bumpy beginning comes because my students have a hard time wrapping their brain around the idea that they get to choose how they want to do the project.  I only give them broad guidelines and a not so well designed rubric (sorry, rubrics are my weak point).

Last year, while I received some excellent posters (which were required so they couldn't just put together boring PowerPoints), I wasn't thrilled by the idea of watching 58 three minute presentations.  So, I put a twist into the presentation.  Rather than making a poster, I required all of them to make a one minute Animoto video about their research sort of as a 1 minute commercial of what they learned.  At first, there were a lot of "a whole minute?? How am I going to find enough to fill it?" which the next day turned into "You have to extend it to 2 minutes!  I have so many great things I don't want to cut out."  For many of the topics, the video idea failed.  The topics were too technical and the students didn't have a good focus for their research.  But, some of the kids really amazed me at what they put together.  I have included three of my favorites below.  I liked them mostly because of their cleverness:  the right music, the right background, the right combination of pictures and text.  I don't share student work often (which I will change next school year), but here is some of what my students put together.  Enjoy!

Landfills and Methane


Creating Meat in a Lab



Enhancing Food with Science

Dare to Fail

I had one overarching goal for this school year:  do something you have never done before.  On the beginning, that was the Flipped Classroom.  I didn't know if I would have any success with it, but I knew I needed to try something different.  Then I started to get involved in other PLNs (Educator's PLN, Classroom 2.0) and through those I learned about Animoto, QR Codes, and so many other fantastic learning tools.  My students have really liked some of these and have been ambivalent to others, but have always been willing participants.

But it is the things that I have done outside of the classroom that I want to talk about because those are great examples of me failing like a champion.  The first is my work striving to be a Fred.  I have tried to boost the morale slightly in the school.  Contract negotiations were not going well, the school budget almost failed and teachers are being let go all over.  So, I began putting little token gifts in peoples' mailboxes.  It started with a Sharpie marker for members of the science department, then I put candy for Valentine's Day, followed up lollipops in March, and an Easter Egg filled with candy for Easter.  While some teachers have commented to the secretary next to the mailboxes how nice it is to get these gifts, some people still have them in their mailbox!  I noticed three mailboxes with lollipops and at least half a dozen with eggs.  Plus there was that incident of some Sharpies left on the counter by the boxes as a clear indication they were unwanted.  It is hard to make changes when my efforts are so blatantly unwelcomed.

Then there was the Teacher Tech Tip.  Every Wednesday I began posting Teacher Tech Tips in the faculty rooms as a way to expose the staff to some Web 2.0 tools they may not have seen before.  I have subtly asked around to see what they feeling was and if anyone was using.  Almost every person I talked to said that they never even read them.  Most had seen them, but never paid any attention to them.  I put them right by the photocopiers hoping that teachers would read them as they were waiting for their copies, but nothing.  That means basically no one benefited from the tips I was trying to provide. 

So, what I have learned from all of this.  First, even though most of my efforts were not completely welcomed, I felt really good while I was doing them.  I had so much fun sitting in my living room with my son stuffing what seemed like 1000 plastic eggs (it was actually closer to 160) with candy and I discovered a bunch of great websites while researching web tools.  Second, sometimes you have to water the rocks.  A few people (and it was only a few) keep asking the secretary who was the "little elf" who kept leaving them treats because it always made them smile or it was such a great surprise to find a little gift to brighten their day.  Maybe I didn't help everyone, but I helped a few have a better day.  Finally, you have to try to change the world.  Maybe you will succeed, maybe you will fail (and it's ok if you do), but no matter what happens you at least have to try.

Teacher Tech Tip

A couple of weeks ago I made a post about starting a Teacher Tech Tip of the week.  I have started to put out feelers to find out 1) if anyone has seen them and 2) if they are being used.  Wordle seems to be fairly popular around the humanities and I was glad to hear that several teachers have already been using it in the foreign languages and English classes.  The science teachers I talked to had read the tip, but never actually used it.  They did think it was an interesting idea.

As I was preparing for this week's tip (more on that in a moment) I realized that I have never tried Wordle.  It never even occurred to me to try the very tip I was trying to encourage others to use.  Once I saw that
Wordle had the ability pull information from this blog, I knew I had to try it.  So, here is what was created:

Unbelievably easy to use.  I just kept clicking the randomize button until I got something I was happy with.  For some reason it is coming in blurry, but if you click the picture it will send you to Wordle's site where it is clear.

This week's tech tip was Animoto.  I am putting together something about Twitter this week and will post my final product next week.  Here is the Starter Sheet I used: